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7 Tips For Writing The Perfect Family Nurse Practitioner Essay

For the vast majority of Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs, which one must undertake if one wants to practice in this particular field of nursing, the applicant will be required to submit an essay in order to be accepted into the program. Although the application deadline may still be months in the future, this is something that you should get started on as soon as possible, as it is probably the most important factor in determining whether or not you will be able to achieve your career goals. If you have already applied to one or more schools, you will need to get through mountains of paperwork, completing your personal information, getting all your transcripts together and having hundreds of copies of your letters of recommendation. Although this is a lot of work to do, it is the easy part. Writing the essay, however, is something that sends many prospective students into melt down. What is expected of you? How do you present your essay? What does the university want to hear?

The questions you are likely to need to answer are the hard ones we all hate. For instance, these include questions as to why you want to become a FNP or demonstrating how you have once overcome a relevant challenges. It can be difficult to really put into words why you feel you have a calling for nursing or to eloquently describe how a conflict was resolved, without disclosing private information as well. Naturally, you cannot avoid these questions. Simply indicating that you like the idea of a decent salary and that you will decide what you want to do with the rest of your life later is a sure fire way to get rejected by your university of choice.

1 – Be Specific

When you receive your essay questions, you will notice that they are reasonably generic questions. What the university is looking for, however, is how you turn that into something very specific. Hence, don’t just outline your overall feelings about a full topic. Instead, go into details and use specific examples from your personal experience that truly demonstrate the answers that you would like to provide. Not only would this be a better way of answering the question, it also means your essay will be far more interesting. It will properly showcase your personality, which is something that is very important in nursing.

2 – Be Specific But Keep It Simple

Always remember that you are writing an essay and not the next great saga. Very often, there will be a word count limit, but even if there isn’t, you shouldn’t write every little detail that you come up with. What matters is that the information is complete and that it doesn’t go off topic. Stick to the guidelines that are provided, as they have been given for a good reason (one of them is to test you on how well you can follow instructions). Additionally, you must be concrete in your answers. Never use words like “might” or “hope” and this demonstrates that you aren’t entirely sure about what you want to do. Instead, stick to words such as “will” and “can,” which are far more powerful. Do make sure you follow all the directions that have been provided to you. The school may request your essay in a certain format, for instance, which may mean you will need to get to know some different software packages before you hand it in.

3 – Learn About the Various Roles of a Family Nurse Practitioner

Although you will be studying towards becoming an FNP, the university will want to know that you already have an understanding of what that job requires. You need to make sure that your responses represent the overall roles of FNPs. It is likely that you are already employed in a health care setting if you want to be an FNP, as it is a master’s degree, so perhaps you might want to interview someone in your employment before writing your essay.

4 – Be Personal But Not Too Much

It is very likely that you will be asked how you overcame something very difficult in your life. Usually, what they are looking for is something that happened during your career, and not necessarily in your personal life. Although you can use personal challenges, try to avoid true personal hardship, such as having a history of abuse, coming from a broken home or having financial difficulties in your personal life. If you struggle to find something that you would class as a true difficulty outside of your persona life, then pick something that was perhaps not entirely insurmountable but still challenging. So long as it is not trivial, you can use it as an example

5 – Show Off But Don’t Be Arrogant

Your essay is an opportunity for you to show what you are made of. Highlight all the things that are good about you, such as your education, your career and other experiences. Perhaps you have done voluntary work, or you have already been employed in the medical field. It is always a good idea to give some examples of the experiences you have had to demonstrate why you are good at what you do and why you want to become a FNP.

6 – Use as Many Facts as Possible

You will need to describe who you are in your essay as well, and it is best to use facts rather than just descriptive words. For instance, saying you are hardworking may sound really good, but it is much better to given an example of how you have worked hard in your experience. You need to prove any claim you make about yourself.

7 – Edit Again and Again

Finally, once you have completed your essay, proofread it. After that, give it to someone else to proofread and then edit it once more yourself. Misspellings, typos and layout problems are a sure fire way to have your application denied because they show a lack of attention to detail. Share your essay with as many people as possible and ask for their suggestions and edits before you finally submit it.

Remember that the faculty members of the FNP program you are applying for will also look at how well you can write. This is because FNPs often have to deliver reports and work in educational programs. Hence, you have to make sure that it is well-reviewed and well-written. This is your chance to shine and really show them what you are made of, so make sure you don’t hurt your chances in any way by making small and silly mistakes. And this is also why you should start as early as possible, as this is not a job that can be rushed.

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